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Made in Middletown
No rivals, siblings strive for sublimity with some success at the Tuscany
Tuscany Grill, 600 Plaza Middlesex, Middletown (203-346-7096). Open 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon-Thurs; 11:30 a.m.-midnight Fri-Sat; noon-10 p.m. Sun.
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Business New Haven
6/4/1995
By: Angelina Anderman
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Lunch-wise, Middletown has not had much to offer for those who work in the vicinity of Meriden, Wallingford and Middletown. Now, however, a welcome newcomer has appeared: the Tuscany Grill. Located in the old Middlesex Opera House (home to a number of previous attempted restaurants), the Tuscany Grill seems to have hit it right.
The creation of two of Connecticut's most experienced restaurateurs - the brother-and-sister team of Tim Reilly and Brenda Lastrina - the old opera house was redesigned with a new, expanded kitchen featuring a brick oven and huge square bar dominating the main space. The design and construction work were performed by friends and family, including ht principals, who were observed covered in plaster and paint months before opening. The project was financed in part by a loan from the city, which has backed a winner (as the Reillys are quick to point out, “It's a loan - not a gift”). The work has paid off: The Tuscany is clean, bright, airy and light, with plenty of comfortable seating and a bar at which full meals are served - a boon if you are dining alone.
The rear entrance is situated in Plaza Middlesex, a pleasant open space that cries out for al fresco dining by patrons seated at attractive, umbrella'd tables.
The menu offerings are a result of the couple's considerable food and beverage experience in their original Portland restaurant (Reilly's), and from their catering business. They have incorporated the most popular items from their past and added a number of creative Italian specialties, including pizzas. The Tuscany already has some signature dishes: bruschetta with grilled eggplant, roasted peppers, olives and Asiago cheese is $3.95; add a large daily soup special ($2.95) and you have a great lunch. If you are a mussel fan, a started of herbed mussels with vegetables in fennel cream and white wine sauce ($4.95) is delicious. But the grilled Portobello mushroom starter with goat cheese and arugala salad ($6.95) is the pièce de resistance.
Crispy, oven-baked pizzas range from $6 to $9.95, and are easily enough for two (“personal”-sized pizzas start at $3.95). Toppings run the gamut from chicken, pesto and shrimp to lots of veggies, including a “wild vegetarian” of wild mushrooms, Portobellos, roasted shallots, garlic, red peppers and gorgonzola. The Portobello mushrooms resurface in the grilled Tuscan sandwich ($6.95), where they are accompanied by grilled leeks, goat cheese and roasted peppers on especially good Italian bread baked for the restaurant. An excellent sirloin burger with provolone cheese, lettuce and tomato is $4.95.
Four combinations of soup, pasta special or salad ($.95 to $6.95) vary day by day - a good deal and popular lunchtime choice. We have enjoyed it several times; the regular lunch pasta dishes, freshly made, are generous. They are also unusual and include farfalle (bowties) and orecchiette (little ears) with sausage, broccoli, chicken, shrimp, escarole, shallots, white beans and rosemary, from $4.95 to $8.95 (the latter for the shrimp).
In the evening, pastas are served in two sizes, small ($4.95 to $9.95) and large ($7.95 to $14.95), an excellent idea. Saves bringing home half your dinner to sit in the back of the refrigerator for two weeks.
Desserts of the usual variety are $4. Regular coffee is $1, espresso $1.90 and cappuccino $2.50. The Tuscany Grill's large bar specializes in wines by the glass - 19 varieties from $3 to $5 and an extensive wine list with bottles from $12. The beer selection is equally ample.
An oasis in the hinterland between New Haven and Hartford, the Tuscany Grill is a fine gweet (as in “let's go eat”) for the hungry and corporately oppressed.
Comings & Goings: John Bagdon of the excellent Bagdon's in New Haven has closed up shop and moved to the Colony Inn...Steve Nigro, who presided over the restaurant at Water's Edge Inn & Resort in Westbrook has joined the New Haven Hotel (former the Medical Hotel) to revitalize its food-and-beverage operation. More details to be forthcoming on this well-kept New Haven secret.
Angelina Anderman is a pseudonym.
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